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Russian literature refers to the literature of
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
and its émigrés and to Russian-language literature. The roots of Russian literature can be traced to the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, when epics and chronicles in
Old East Slavic Old East Slavic (traditionally also Old Russian; be, старажытнаруская мова; russian: древнерусский язык; uk, давньоруська мова) was a language used during the 9th–15th centuries by East ...
were composed. By the Age of Enlightenment, literature had grown in importance, and from the early 1830s, Russian literature underwent an astounding golden age in poetry, prose and drama.
Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
permitted a flowering of poetic talent: Vasily Zhukovsky and later his protégé
Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
came to the fore. Prose was flourishing as well.
Mikhail Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (; russian: Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjurʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲɛrməntəf; – ) was a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucas ...
was one of the most important poets and novelists. The first great Russian novelist was
Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...
. Then came Ivan Turgenev, who mastered both short stories and novels.
Fyodor Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...
and
Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
soon became internationally renowned. Other important figures of Russian realism were Ivan Goncharov, Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin and Nikolai Leskov. In the second half of the century
Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...
excelled in short stories and became a leading dramatist. The beginning of the 20th century ranks as the Silver Age of Russian poetry. The poets most often associated with the "Silver Age" are
Konstantin Balmont Konstantin Dmitriyevich Balmont ( rus, Константи́н Дми́триевич Бальмо́нт, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin ˈdmʲitrʲɪjɪvʲɪdʑ bɐlʲˈmont, a=Konstantin Dmitriyevich Bal'mont.ru.vorb.oga; – 23 December 1942) was a Rus ...
, Valery Bryusov, Alexander Blok, Anna Akhmatova, Nikolay Gumilyov,
Sergei Yesenin Sergei Alexandrovich Yesenin ( rus, Сергей Александрович Есенин, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ jɪˈsʲenʲɪn; ( 1895 – 28 December 1925), sometimes spelled as Esenin, was a Russian lyric poet. He is one o ...
, Vladimir Mayakovsky, and Marina Tsvetaeva. This era produced some first-rate novelists and short-story writers, such as
Aleksandr Kuprin Aleksandr Ivanovich Kuprin (russian: link=no, Александр Иванович Куприн;  – 25 August 1938) was a Russian writer best known for his novels ''The Duel'' (1905)Kuprin scholar Nicholas Luker, in his biography ''A ...
, Nobel Prize winner Ivan Bunin, Leonid Andreyev, Fyodor Sologub, Yevgeny Zamyatin,
Alexander Belyaev Alexander Romanovich Belyaev (russian: Алекса́ндр Рома́нович Беля́ев, ; – 6 January 1942) was a Soviet Russian writer of science fiction. His works from the 1920s and 1930s made him a highly regarded figure in Russia ...
,
Andrei Bely Boris Nikolaevich Bugaev ( rus, Бори́с Никола́евич Буга́ев, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ bʊˈɡajɪf, a=Boris Nikolayevich Bugayev.ru.vorb.oga), better known by the pen name Andrei Bely or Biely ( rus, Андр� ...
and
Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в;  – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...
. After the Revolution of 1917, Russian literature split into Soviet and white émigré parts. While the Soviet Union assured universal literacy and a highly developed book printing industry, it also enforced ideological censorship. In the 1930s
Socialist realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...
became the predominant trend in Russia. Its leading figures were
Nikolay Ostrovsky Nikolai Alexeevich Ostrovsky (russian: Никола́й Алексе́евич Остро́вский; uk, Мико́ла Олексі́йович Остро́вський; 29 September 1904 – 22 December 1936) was a Soviet socialist realist w ...
, Alexander Fadeyev and other writers, who laid the foundations of this style. Ostrovsky's novel '' How the Steel Was Tempered'' has been among the most popular works of Russian Socrealist literature. Some writers, such as
Mikhail Bulgakov Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov ( rus, links=no, Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bʊlˈɡakəf; – 10 March 1940) was a Soviet writer, medical doctor, and playwright active in the fir ...
, Andrei Platonov and Daniil Kharms were criticized and wrote with little or no hope of being published. Various ''émigré'' writers, such as poets
Vladislav Khodasevich Vladislav Felitsianovich Khodasevich (russian: Владисла́в Фелициа́нович Ходасе́вич; 16 May 1886 – 14 June 1939) was an influential Russian poet and literary critic who presided over the Berlin circle of Russian ...
,
Georgy Ivanov Georgy Vladimirovich Ivanov (russian: Гео́ргий Влади́мирович Ива́нов; in Puki Estate, Seda Volost, Kovno Governorate – 26 August 1958 in Hyères, Var, France) was a leading poet and essayist of the Russian emigr ...
and Vyacheslav Ivanov; novelists such as
Gaito Gazdanov Gaito Gazdanov (russian: Гайто́ (Гео́ргий) Ива́нович Газда́нов, ''Gaito'' 'Georgii'Ivanovich Gazdanov''; os, Гæздæнты Бæппийы фырт Гайто, ''Gæzdænty Bæppijy fyrt Gajto''; 5 December ...
, Vladimir Nabokov and Bunin, continued to write in exile. Some writers dared to oppose Soviet ideology, like Nobel Prize-winning novelist
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) was a Russian novelist. One of the most famous Soviet dissidents, Solzhenitsyn was an outspoken critic of communism and helped to raise global awareness of political repr ...
and Varlam Shalamov, who wrote about life in the gulag camps. The
Khrushchev Thaw The Khrushchev Thaw ( rus, хрущёвская о́ттепель, r=khrushchovskaya ottepel, p=xrʊˈɕːɵfskəjə ˈotʲ:ɪpʲɪlʲ or simply ''ottepel'')William Taubman, Khrushchev: The Man and His Era, London: Free Press, 2004 is the period ...
brought some fresh wind to literature and poetry became a mass cultural phenomenon. This "thaw" did not last long; in the 1970s, some of the most prominent authors were banned from publishing and prosecuted for their anti-Soviet sentiments. The end of the 20th century was a difficult period for Russian literature, with few distinct voices. Among the most discussed authors of this period were Victor Pelevin, who gained popularity with short stories and novels, novelist and playwright
Vladimir Sorokin Vladimir Georgiyevich Sorokin (russian: link=no, Влади́мир Гео́ргиевич Соро́кин; born 7 August 1955) is a contemporary postmodern Russian writer and dramatist. He has been described as one of the most popular writers ...
, and the poet Dmitri Prigov. In the 21st century, a new generation of Russian authors appeared, differing greatly from the postmodernist Russian prose of the late 20th century, which led critics to speak about "new realism". Russian authors have significantly contributed to numerous literary genres. Russia has five
Nobel Prize in literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...
laureates. As of 2011, Russia was the fourth largest book producer in the world in terms of published titles. A popular folk saying claims Russians are "the world's most reading nation".


Early history

Old Russian literature consists of several masterpieces written in the
Old East Slavic Old East Slavic (traditionally also Old Russian; be, старажытнаруская мова; russian: древнерусский язык; uk, давньоруська мова) was a language used during the 9th–15th centuries by East ...
(i.e. the language of Kievan Rus', not to be confused with the contemporaneous
Church Slavonic Church Slavonic (, , literally "Church-Slavonic language"), also known as Church Slavic, New Church Slavonic or New Church Slavic, is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bosnia and Her ...
nor with modern Ukrainian, Russian and Belarusian). The main type of Old Russian historical literature were chronicles, most of them anonymous. Anonymous works also include ''
The Tale of Igor's Campaign ''The Tale of Igor's Campaign'' ( orv, Слово о пълкѹ Игоревѣ, translit=Slovo o pŭlku Igorevě) is an anonymous epic poem written in the Old East Slavic language. The title is occasionally translated as ''The Tale of the Campai ...
'' and ''
Praying of Daniel the Immured The Prayer of Daniil Zatochnik, also translated as The Supplication of Daniel the Exile or Praying of Daniel the Immured (russian: Моление Даниила Заточника, translit=Moleniye Daniila Zatochnika), is an Old East Slavic text ...
''. Hagiographies (russian: жития святых, ''zhitiya svyatykh'', "lives of the saints") formed a popular
genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other f ...
of the Old Russian literature. ''
Life of Alexander Nevsky ''Life of Alexander Nevsky'' (russian: Житие Александра Невского, italic=yes, ''Zhitiye Aleksandra Nevskovo'') is a Russian literary work of the late 13th and early 14th centuries. It describes the life and achievements of ...
'' offers a well-known example. Other Russian literary works include '' Zadonschina'', ''
Physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemica ...
'', ''
Synopsis A synopsis is a brief summary of the major points of a subject or written work or story, either as prose or as a table; an abridgment or condensation of a work. Synopsis or synopsys may also refer to: * Video synopsis, an approach to create a sho ...
'' and ''
A Journey Beyond the Three Seas ''A Journey Beyond the Three Seas'' (russian: Хожение за три моря, ''Khozheniye za tri morya'') is a Russian literary monument in the form of travel notes, made by a merchant from Tver, Afanasiy Nikitin during his journey to Ind ...
''. Bylinas – oral folk epics – fused Christian and pagan traditions. Medieval Russian literature had an overwhelmingly religious character and used an adapted form of the
Church Slavonic Church Slavonic (, , literally "Church-Slavonic language"), also known as Church Slavic, New Church Slavonic or New Church Slavic, is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bosnia and Her ...
language with many South Slavic elements. The first work in colloquial Russian, the autobiography of the
archpriest The ecclesiastical title of archpriest or archpresbyter belongs to certain priests with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and the Eastern Catholic Churches and may be somewhat analogous ...
Avvakum, emerged only in the mid-17th century.


18th century

After taking the throne at the end of the 17th century, Peter the Great's influence on the Russian culture would extend far into the 18th century. Peter's reign during the beginning of the 18th century initiated a series of modernizing changes in Russian literature. The reforms he implemented encouraged Russian artists and scientists to make innovations in their crafts and fields with the intention of creating an economy and culture comparable. Peter's example set a precedent for the remainder of the 18th century as Russian writers began to form clear ideas about the proper use and progression of the Russian language. Through their debates regarding versification of the Russian language and tone of Russian literature, the writers in the first half of the 18th century were able to lay foundation for the more poignant, topical work of the late 18th century. Satirist Antiokh Dmitrievich Kantemir, 1708–1744, was one of the earliest Russian writers not only to praise the ideals of Peter I's reforms but the ideals of the growing Enlightenment movement in Europe. Kantemir's works regularly expressed his admiration for Peter, most notably in his epic dedicated to the emperor entitled ''Petrida''. More often, however, Kantemir indirectly praised Peter's influence through his satiric criticism of Russia's “superficiality and obscurantism,” which he saw as manifestations of the backwardness Peter attempted to correct through his reforms. Kantemir honored this tradition of reform not only through his support for Peter, but by initiating a decade-long debate on the proper syllabic versification using the Russian language.
Vasily Kirillovich Trediakovsky Vasily Kirillovich Trediakovsky (russian: Васи́лий Кири́ллович Тредиако́вский ; in Astrakhan – in Saint Petersburg) was a Russian poet, essayist and playwright who helped lay the foundations of classical R ...
, a poet, playwright, essayist, translator and contemporary to Antiokh Kantemir, also found himself deeply entrenched in Enlightenment conventions in his work with the
Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...
and his groundbreaking translations of French and classical works to the Russian language. A turning point in the course of Russian literature, his translation of Paul Tallemant's work ''Voyage to the Isle of Love'', was the first to use the Russian vernacular as opposed the formal and outdated Church-Slavonic. This introduction set a precedent for secular works to be composed in the vernacular, while sacred texts would remain in Church-Slavonic. However, his work was often incredibly theoretical and scholarly, focused on promoting the versification of the language with which he spoke. While Trediakovsky's approach to writing is often described as highly erudite, the young writer and scholarly rival to Trediakovsky, Alexander Petrovich Sumarokov, 1717–1777, was dedicated to the styles of French classicism. Sumarokov's interest in the form of French literature mirrored his devotion to the westernizing spirit of Peter the Great's age. Although he often disagreed with Trediakovsky, Sumarokov also advocated the use of simple, natural language in order to diversify the audience and make more efficient use of the Russian language. Like his colleagues and counterparts, Sumarokov extolled the legacy of Peter I, writing in his manifesto ''Epistle on Poetry'', “The great Peter hurls his thunder from the Baltic shores, the Russian sword glitters in all corners of the universe”. Peter the Great's policies of westernization and displays of military prowess naturally attracted Sumarokov and his contemporaries. Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov, in particular, expressed his gratitude for and dedication to Peter's legacy in his unfinished ''Peter the Great'', Lomonosov's works often focused on themes of the awe-inspiring, grandeur nature, and was therefore drawn to Peter because of the magnitude of his military, architectural and cultural feats. In contrast to Sumarokov's devotion to simplicity, Lomonosov favored a belief in a hierarchy of literary styles divided into high, middle and low. This style facilitated Lomonosov's grandiose, high minded writing and use of both vernacular and Church-Slavonic. The influence of Peter I and debates over the function and form of literature as it related to the Russian language in the first half of the 18th century set a stylistic precedent for the writers during the reign of
Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...
in the second half of the century. However, the themes and scopes of the works these writers produced were often more poignant, political and controversial. Alexander Nikolayevich Radishchev, for example, shocked the Russian public with his depictions of the socio-economic condition of the
serfs Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...
. Empress Catherine II condemned this portrayal, forcing Radishchev into exile in
Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part ...
. Others, however, picked topics less offensive to the autocrat.
Nikolay Karamzin Nikolay Mikhailovich Karamzin (russian: Николай Михайлович Карамзин, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ kərɐmˈzʲin; ) was a Russian Empire, Russian Imperial historian, romantic writer, poet and critic. He is best ...
, 1766–1826, for example, is known for his advocacy of Russian writers adopting traits in the poetry and prose like a heightened sense of emotion and physical vanity, considered to be feminine at the time as well as supporting the cause of female Russian writers. Karamzin's call for male writers to write with femininity was not in accordance with the Enlightenment ideals of reason and theory, considered masculine attributes. His works were thus not universally well received; however, they did reflect in some areas of society a growing respect for, or at least ambivalence toward, a female ruler in Catherine the Great. This concept heralded an era of regarding female characteristics in writing as an abstract concept linked with attributes of frivolity, vanity and pathos. Some writers, on the other hand, were more direct in their praise for Catherine II. Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin, famous for his odes, often dedicated his poems to Empress Catherine II. In contrast to most of his contemporaries, Derzhavin was highly devoted to his state; he served in the military, before rising to various roles in Catherine II's government, including secretary to the Empress and Minister of Justice. Unlike those who took after the grand style of Mikhail Lomonosov and Alexander Sumarokov, Derzhavin was concerned with the minute details of his subjects. Denis Fonvizin, an author primarily of comedy, approached the subject of the
Russian nobility The Russian nobility (russian: дворянство ''dvoryanstvo'') originated in the 14th century. In 1914 it consisted of approximately 1,900,000 members (about 1.1% of the population) in the Russian Empire. Up until the February Revolutio ...
with an angle of critique. Fonvizin felt the nobility should be held to the standards they were under the reign of Peter the Great, during which the quality of devotion to the state was rewarded. His works criticized the current system for rewarding the nobility without holding them responsible for the duties they once performed. Using satire and comedy, Fonvizin supported a system of nobility in which the elite were rewarded based upon personal merit rather than the hierarchal favoritism that was rampant during Catherine the Great's reign. Image:Sumarokov by A.Losenko.jpg, Alexander Sumarokov Image:Vladimir Borovikovsky 001 (portrait of Gavrila Derzhavin).jpg, Gavrila Derzhavin DenisFonvizin2.jpg, Denis Fonvizin Image:Radishchev color.jpg, Alexander Radishchev Image:Tropinin karamzin.JPG,
Nikolay Karamzin Nikolay Mikhailovich Karamzin (russian: Николай Михайлович Карамзин, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ kərɐmˈzʲin; ) was a Russian Empire, Russian Imperial historian, romantic writer, poet and critic. He is best ...
Image:Ivan Krylov.jpg,
Ivan Krylov Ivan Andreyevich Krylov (russian: Ива́н Андре́евич Крыло́в; 13 February 1769 – 21 November 1844) is Russia's best-known fabulist and probably the most epigrammatic of all Russian authors. Formerly a dramatist and journali ...


Golden Age

The 19th century is traditionally referred to as the "Golden Era" of Russian literature.
Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
permitted a flowering of especially poetic talent: the names of Vasily Zhukovsky and later that of his protégé
Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
came to the fore. Pushkin is credited with both crystallizing the literary Russian language and introducing a new level of artistry to Russian literature. His best-known work is a novel in verse, '' Eugene Onegin'' (1833). An entire new generation of poets including
Mikhail Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (; russian: Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjurʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲɛrməntəf; – ) was a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucas ...
(also known for the novel '' A Hero of Our Time'', 1841),
Yevgeny Baratynsky Yevgeny Abramovich Baratynsky (russian: Евге́ний Абра́мович Бараты́нский, p=jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐˈbraməvʲɪtɕ bərɐˈtɨnskʲɪj, a=Yevgyeniy Abramovich Baratynskiy.ru.vorb.oga; 11 July 1844) was lauded by Alexan ...
, Konstantin Batyushkov,
Nikolay Nekrasov Nikolay Alexeyevich Nekrasov ( rus, Никола́й Алексе́евич Некра́сов, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj ɐlʲɪkˈsʲejɪvʲɪtɕ nʲɪˈkrasəf, a=Ru-Nikolay_Alexeyevich_Nekrasov.ogg, – ) was a Russian poet, writer, critic and publi ...
, Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy,
Fyodor Tyutchev Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev ( rus, Фёдор Ива́нович Тю́тчев, r=Fyódor Ivánovič Tyútčev, links=1, p=ˈfʲɵdər ɪˈvanəvʲɪt͡ɕ ˈtʲʉt͡ɕːɪf; Pre-Reform orthography: ; – ) was a Russian poet and diplomat. ...
and Afanasy Fet followed in Pushkin's steps. Prose was flourishing as well. The first great Russian novel was ''
Dead Souls ''Dead Souls'' (russian: «Мёртвые души», ''Mjórtvyje dúshi'') is a novel by Nikolai Gogol, first published in 1842, and widely regarded as an exemplar of 19th-century Russian literature. The novel chronicles the travels and adve ...
'' (1842) by
Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...
. The realistic school of fiction can be said to have begun with Ivan Goncharov, mainly remembered for his novel '' Oblomov'' (1859), and Ivan Turgenev. Fyodor Dostoyevsky and
Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
soon became internationally renowned to the point that many scholars such as F. R. Leavis have described one or the other as the greatest novelist ever. Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin is known for his grotesque satire, and the satirical chronicle ''
The History of a Town ''The History of a Town'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, История одного города, Istoriya odnogo goroda) is a 1870 novel by Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin. The plot presents the history of the town of Glupov (can be transl ...
'' (1870) and the family saga ''
The Golovlyov Family ''The Golovlyov Family'' (russian: Господа Головлёвы, translit=Gospoda Golovlyovy; also translated as ''The Golovlevs'' or ''A Family of Noblemen: The Gentlemen Golovliov'') is a novel by Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, written in the ...
'' (1880) are considered his masterpieces. Nikolai Leskov is best remembered for his shorter fiction and for his unique '' skaz'' techniques. Late in the century
Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...
emerged as a master of the short story as well as a leading international dramatist. Other important 19th-century developments included the fabulist
Ivan Krylov Ivan Andreyevich Krylov (russian: Ива́н Андре́евич Крыло́в; 13 February 1769 – 21 November 1844) is Russia's best-known fabulist and probably the most epigrammatic of all Russian authors. Formerly a dramatist and journali ...
; non-fiction writers such as the critic Vissarion Belinsky and the political reformer Alexander Herzen; playwrights such as
Aleksandr Griboyedov Alexander Sergeyevich Griboyedov (russian: Александр Сергеевич Грибоедов, ''Aleksandr Sergeevich Griboedov'' or ''Sergeevich Griboyedov''; 15 January 179511 February 1829), formerly romanized as Alexander Sergueevich Gri ...
, Aleksandr Ostrovsky,
Alexander Sukhovo-Kobylin Aleksandr Vasilyevich Sukhovo-Kobylin (russian: Александр Васильевич Сухово-Кобылин) (, Moscow - , Beaulieu-sur-Mer, France), was a Russian philosopher and playwright, chiefly known for his satirical plays criticiz ...
and the satirist
Kozma Prutkov Kozma Petrovich Prutkov (russian: Козьма́ Петро́вич Прутко́в) is a fictional author invented by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy (1817-1875) and his cousins, the brothers Alexei Zhemchuzhnikov (1821-1908), (1830-1884) and ...
(a collective pen name). Image:Bryullov portrait of Zhukovsky.jpg, Vasily Zhukovsky Image:Griboyedov.jpg,
Alexander Griboyedov Alexander Sergeyevich Griboyedov (russian: Александр Сергеевич Грибоедов, ''Aleksandr Sergeevich Griboedov'' or ''Sergeevich Griboyedov''; 15 January 179511 February 1829), formerly romanized as Alexander Sergueevich Gr ...
Image:Kiprensky Pushkin.jpg,
Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
Image:Fyodor Tyutchev.jpg,
Fyodor Tyutchev Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev ( rus, Фёдор Ива́нович Тю́тчев, r=Fyódor Ivánovič Tyútčev, links=1, p=ˈfʲɵdər ɪˈvanəvʲɪt͡ɕ ˈtʲʉt͡ɕːɪf; Pre-Reform orthography: ; – ) was a Russian poet and diplomat. ...
Image:Портрет Гоголя.jpg,
Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; uk, link=no, Мико́ла Васи́льович Го́голь, translit=Mykola Vasyliovych Hohol; (russian: Яновский; uk, Яновський, translit=Yanovskyi) ( – ) was a Russian novelist, ...
Image:Herzen ge detail.jpg, Alexander Herzen Image:Ivan Goncharov(2).jpg, Ivan Goncharov Image:Mikhail lermontov.jpg,
Mikhail Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (; russian: Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjurʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲɛrməntəf; – ) was a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucas ...
Image:A.K.Tolstoy by Repin.jpg, A. K. Tolstoy Image:Turgenev by Repin.jpg, Ivan Turgenev Image:Fet by Repin.jpg, Afanasy Fet Image:Nikolay Gay. Portrait of the Poet Nikolay Nekrasov.jpg, Nikolai Nekrasov Image:Dostoevskij 1872.jpg, Fyodor Dostoyevsky Image:Wassilij Grigorjewitsch Perow 003.jpg,
Alexander Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Остро́вский; ) was a Russian playwright, generally considered the greatest representative of the Russian realistic period. The author of 47 original ...
Image:Kramskoj - saltykov-schedrin.jpg,
Mikhail Saltykov-Schedrin Mikhail Yevgrafovich Saltykov-Shchedrin ( rus, Михаи́л Евгра́фович Салтыко́в-Щедри́н, p=mʲɪxɐˈil jɪvˈɡrafəvʲɪtɕ səltɨˈkof ɕːɪˈdrʲin; – ), born Mikhail Yevgrafovich Saltykov and known during ...
Image:Ilya Efimovich Repin (1844-1930) - Portrait of Leo Tolstoy (1887).jpg,
Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
Image:Serov Leskov.jpg, Nikolai Leskov Image:Chekhov 1898 by Osip Braz.jpg,
Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...


20th century


Silver Age

The beginning of the 20th century ranks as the Silver Age of Russian poetry. Well-known poets of the period include: Alexander Blok,
Sergei Yesenin Sergei Alexandrovich Yesenin ( rus, Сергей Александрович Есенин, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ jɪˈsʲenʲɪn; ( 1895 – 28 December 1925), sometimes spelled as Esenin, was a Russian lyric poet. He is one o ...
, Valery Bryusov,
Konstantin Balmont Konstantin Dmitriyevich Balmont ( rus, Константи́н Дми́триевич Бальмо́нт, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin ˈdmʲitrʲɪjɪvʲɪdʑ bɐlʲˈmont, a=Konstantin Dmitriyevich Bal'mont.ru.vorb.oga; – 23 December 1942) was a Rus ...
, Mikhail Kuzmin, Igor Severyanin,
Sasha Chorny Alexander Mikhailovich Glikberg ( rus, Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Гли́кберг, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ ˈɡlʲikbʲɪrk, a=Alyexandr Mikhaylovich Glickbyerg.ru.vorb.oga), better known as Sasha Chorny ( rus, ...
, Nikolay Gumilyov,
Maximilian Voloshin Maximilian Alexandrovich Kirienko-Voloshin (russian: Максимилиа́н Алекса́ндрович Кирие́нко-Воло́шин; May 28, Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._May_16.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ...
, Innokenty Annensky, Zinaida Gippius. The poets most often associated with the "Silver Age" are Anna Akhmatova, Marina Tsvetaeva, Osip Mandelstam and
Boris Pasternak Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (; rus, Бори́с Леони́дович Пастерна́к, p=bɐˈrʲis lʲɪɐˈnʲidəvʲɪtɕ pəstɛrˈnak; 30 May 1960) was a Russian poet, novelist, composer and literary translator. Composed in 1917, Pa ...
. While the Silver Age is considered to be the development of the 19th-century Russian literature tradition, some avant-garde poets tried to overturn it: Velimir Khlebnikov, David Burliuk, Aleksei Kruchenykh and Vladimir Mayakovsky. Though the Silver Age is famous mostly for its poetry, it produced some first-rate novelists and short-story writers, such as
Aleksandr Kuprin Aleksandr Ivanovich Kuprin (russian: link=no, Александр Иванович Куприн;  – 25 August 1938) was a Russian writer best known for his novels ''The Duel'' (1905)Kuprin scholar Nicholas Luker, in his biography ''A ...
, Nobel Prize winner Ivan Bunin, Leonid Andreyev, Fedor Sologub, Aleksey Remizov, Yevgeny Zamyatin,
Alexander Belyaev Alexander Romanovich Belyaev (russian: Алекса́ндр Рома́нович Беля́ев, ; – 6 January 1942) was a Soviet Russian writer of science fiction. His works from the 1920s and 1930s made him a highly regarded figure in Russia ...
, Dmitry Merezhkovsky and
Andrei Bely Boris Nikolaevich Bugaev ( rus, Бори́с Никола́евич Буга́ев, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ bʊˈɡajɪf, a=Boris Nikolayevich Bugayev.ru.vorb.oga), better known by the pen name Andrei Bely or Biely ( rus, Андр� ...
, though most of them wrote poetry as well as prose. Image:Maxim Gorky LOC Restored.jpg,
Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в;  – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...
Image:Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin 7.jpg,
Aleksandr Kuprin Aleksandr Ivanovich Kuprin (russian: link=no, Александр Иванович Куприн;  – 25 August 1938) was a Russian writer best known for his novels ''The Duel'' (1905)Kuprin scholar Nicholas Luker, in his biography ''A ...
Image:Gippius 1910s.jpg, Zinaida Gippius File:Andreyev by Repin 1905.jpg, Leonid Andreyev Image:Brusov1920.jpg, Valery Bryusov Image:Andrej Belij (Petrov-Vodkin festménye).jpg,
Andrey Bely Boris Nikolaevich Bugaev ( rus, Бори́с Никола́евич Буга́ев, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ bʊˈɡajɪf, a=Boris Nikolayevich Bugayev.ru.vorb.oga), better known by the pen name Andrei Bely or Biely ( rus, Андре ...
Image:Blok.jpg, Alexander Blok Image:Petrov-vodkin-akhmatova.jpg, Anna Akhmatova BORIS_BESIDE_THE_BALTIC_AT_MEREKULE,_1910_by_L.Pasternak.jpg,
Boris Pasternak Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (; rus, Бори́с Леони́дович Пастерна́к, p=bɐˈrʲis lʲɪɐˈnʲidəvʲɪtɕ pəstɛrˈnak; 30 May 1960) was a Russian poet, novelist, composer and literary translator. Composed in 1917, Pa ...
Image:Tsvetaeva.jpg, Marina Tsvetaeva Image:Sergey Yesenin.jpg,
Sergei Yesenin Sergei Alexandrovich Yesenin ( rus, Сергей Александрович Есенин, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ jɪˈsʲenʲɪn; ( 1895 – 28 December 1925), sometimes spelled as Esenin, was a Russian lyric poet. He is one o ...
Image:Osip Mandelstam Russian writer.jpg, Osip Mandelstam


Lenin era

The first years of the Soviet regime after the
October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mom ...
of 1917, featured a proliferation of
avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretica ...
literature groups. One of the most important was the Oberiu movement (1928–1930s), which included the most famous Russian absurdist Daniil Kharms (1905–1942),
Konstantin Vaginov Konstantin Konstantinovich Vaginov (russian: Константи́н Константи́нович Ва́гинов, born ''Wagenheim'', – April 26, 1934) was a Russian poet and novelist. Biography Vaginov was born in St. Petersburg in 18 ...
(1899–1934), Alexander Vvedensky (1904–1941) and
Nikolay Zabolotsky Nikolay Alekseyevich Zabolotsky (russian: Никола́й Алексе́евич Заболо́цкий; May 7, 1903 – October 14, 1958) was a Soviet and Russian poet and translator. He was a Modernist and one of the founders of the Russian ava ...
(1903–1958). Other famous authors experimenting with language included the novelists Yuri Olesha (1899–1960), Andrei Platonov (1899–1951) and Boris Pilnyak (1894–1938) and the short-story writers Isaak Babel (1894–1940) and Mikhail Zoshchenko (1894–1958). The OPOJAZ group of literary critics, also known as Russian formalism, was founded in 1916 in close connection with Russian Futurism. Two of its members also produced influential literary works, namely Viktor Shklovsky (1893–1984), whose numerous books ('' A Sentimental Journey'' and '' Zoo, or Letters Not About Love'', both 1923) defy genre in that they present a novel mix of narration, autobiography, and aesthetic as well as social commentary, and
Yury Tynyanov Yury Nikolaevich Tynyanov ( rus, Ю́рий Никола́евич Тыня́нов, p=ˈjʉrʲɪj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ tɨˈnʲænəf; October 18, 1894 – December 20, 1943) was a Soviet writer, literary critic, translator, scholar and scre ...
(1893–1943), who used his knowledge of Russia's literary history to produce a set of historical novels mainly set in the
Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...
era (e.g., ''
Lieutenant Kijé Lieutenant Kijé or Kizhe (russian: Пору́чик Киже́, translit. Poruchik Kizhe), originally Kizh (Киж), is a fictional character in an anecdote about the reign of Emperor Paul I of Russia, in which the cover up of a transcript ...
''). Following the establishment of
Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
rule, Mayakovsky worked on interpreting the facts of the new reality. His works, such as "Ode to the Revolution" and "Left March" (both 1918), brought innovations to poetry. In "Left March", Mayakovsky calls for a struggle against the enemies of the Russian Revolution. The poem '' 150 000 000'' (1921) discusses the leading role played by the masses in the revolution. In the poem ''
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to ...
'' (1924), Mayakovsky looks at the life and work at the leader of Russia's revolution and depicts them against a broad historical background. In the poem ''
All Right! ''All Right!'' (also: ''Good!'', russian: Хорошо!) is a poem by Vladimir Mayakovsky written for the tenth anniversary of the 1917 Revolution. Started in December 1926 and completed in August 1927, it was published in October 1927 ...
'' (1927), Mayakovsky writes about
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
society as the "springtime of humanity". Mayakovsky was instrumental in producing a new type of poetry in which politics played a major part.


Stalin era

In the 1930s,
Socialist Realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...
became the predominant trend in Russia. Writers like those of the Serapion Brothers group (1921–), who insisted on the right of an author to write independently of political ideology, were forced by authorities to reject their views and accept socialist realist principles. Some 1930s writers, such as Osip Mandelstam, Daniil Kharms, leader of Oberiu,
Leonid Dobychin Leonid Ivanovich Dobychin (russian: Леони́д Ива́нович Добы́чин) (, Ludza, Vitebsk Governorate — March 28, 1936 was a Russian and Soviet writer. Early life The author's father was Ivan Andrianovich Dobychin (1855—1 ...
(1894–1936),
Mikhail Bulgakov Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov ( rus, links=no, Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bʊlˈɡakəf; – 10 March 1940) was a Soviet writer, medical doctor, and playwright active in the fir ...
(1891–1940), author of '' The White Guard'' (1923) and '' The Master and Margarita'' (1928–1940), and Andrei Platonov, author of novels ''
Chevengur ''Chevengur'' (russian: Чевенгур) is a socio-philosophical novel by Andrei Platonov, written in 1928. It is his longest and, in the opinion of many literary critics, the most significant of his works. Although its fragments were published i ...
'' (1928) and '' The Foundation Pit'' (1930) were attacked by the official critics as "formalists" and ideological enemies and wrote with little or no hope of being published. Isaac Babel, Boris Pilnyak and other writers, who continued to publish their works but could not get used to the socrealist principles by the end of the 1930s, were executed on fabricated charges. After his return to Russia
Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в;  – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...
was proclaimed by the Soviet authorities as "the founder of Socialist Realism". His novel ''Mother'' (1906), which Gorky himself considered one of his biggest failures, inspired proletarian writers to found the socrealist movement. Gorky defined socialist realism as the "realism of people who are rebuilding the world" and pointed out that it looks at the past "from the heights of the future's goals", although he defined it not as a strict style (which is studied in Andrei Sinyavsky's essay ''On Socialist Realism''), but as a label for the "union of writers of styles", who write for one purpose, to help in the development of the new man in socialist society. Gorky became the initiator of creating the Writer's Union, a state organization, intended to unite the socrealist writers. Despite the official reputation, Gorky's post-revolutionary works, such as the novel '' The Life of Klim Samgin'' (1925–1936) can't be defined as socrealist.
Andrei Bely Boris Nikolaevich Bugaev ( rus, Бори́с Никола́евич Буга́ев, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ bʊˈɡajɪf, a=Boris Nikolayevich Bugayev.ru.vorb.oga), better known by the pen name Andrei Bely or Biely ( rus, Андр� ...
(1880–1934), author of '' Petersburg'' (1913/1922), a well-known modernist writer, also was a member of Writer's Union and tried to become a "true" socrealist by writing a series of articles and making ideological revisions to his memoirs, and he also planned to begin a study of Socialist realism. However, he continued writing with his unique techniques. Although he was actively published during his lifetime, his major works would not be reissued until the end of the 1970s.
Mikhail Sholokhov Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov ( rus, Михаил Александрович Шолохов, p=ˈʂoləxəf; – 21 February 1984) was a Russian novelist and winner of the 1965 Nobel Prize in Literature. He is known for writing about life ...
(1905–1984) was one of the most significant figures in the official Soviet literature. His main socrealist work is ''Virgin Soil Upturned'' (1935), a novel in which Sholokhov glorifies the collectivization. However, his best-known and the most significant literary achievement is '' Quiet Flows the Don'' (1928–1940), an epic novel which realistically depicts the life of
Don Cossacks Don Cossacks (russian: Донские казаки, Donskie kazaki) or Donians (russian: донцы, dontsy) are Cossacks who settled along the middle and lower Don. Historically, they lived within the former Don Cossack Host (russian: До ...
during the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and Russian Civil War.
Nikolai Ostrovsky Nikolai Alexeevich Ostrovsky (russian: Никола́й Алексе́евич Остро́вский; uk, Мико́ла Олексі́йович Остро́вський; 29 September 1904 – 22 December 1936) was a Soviet socialist realist w ...
's novel '' How the Steel Was Tempered'' (1932–1934) has been among the most popular works of literary socrealism, with tens of millions of copies printed in many languages around the world. In China, various versions of the book have sold more than 10 million copies. In Russia more than 35 million copies of the book are in circulation. The book is a fictionalized autobiography of Ostrovsky's life: he had a difficult working-class childhood, became a
Komsomol The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (russian: link=no, Всесоюзный ленинский коммунистический союз молодёжи (ВЛКСМ), ), usually known as Komsomol (; russian: Комсомол, links=n ...
member in July 1919 and volunteered to join the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...
. The novel's protagonist, Pavel Korchagin, represented the "young hero" of Russian literature: he is dedicated to his political causes, which help him to overcome his tragedies. Alexander Fadeyev (1901–1956) was also a well-known Socialist realism writer. His novel ''The Rout'' (1927) deals with the partisan struggle in Russia's Far East during the Russian Revolution and Civil War of 1917–1922. Fadeyev described the theme of this novel as one of a revolution significantly transforming the masses.


''Émigré'' writers

Meanwhile, ''émigré'' writers, such as poets
Vladislav Khodasevich Vladislav Felitsianovich Khodasevich (russian: Владисла́в Фелициа́нович Ходасе́вич; 16 May 1886 – 14 June 1939) was an influential Russian poet and literary critic who presided over the Berlin circle of Russian ...
(1886–1939),
Georgy Ivanov Georgy Vladimirovich Ivanov (russian: Гео́ргий Влади́мирович Ива́нов; in Puki Estate, Seda Volost, Kovno Governorate – 26 August 1958 in Hyères, Var, France) was a leading poet and essayist of the Russian emigr ...
(1894–1958) and Vyacheslav Ivanov (1866–1949); novelists such as
Aleksandr Kuprin Aleksandr Ivanovich Kuprin (russian: link=no, Александр Иванович Куприн;  – 25 August 1938) was a Russian writer best known for his novels ''The Duel'' (1905)Kuprin scholar Nicholas Luker, in his biography ''A ...
, Aleksei Remizov,
Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;, . Most sources transliterate her given name as either ''Alisa'' or ''Alissa''. , 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and p ...
, Dmitry Merezhkovsky,
M. Ageyev M. Ageyev (russian: М. Агеев) was the pen name of the writer of the Russian '' Novel with Cocaine''. He is believed to be Mark Lazarevich Levi (russian: Марк Ла́заревич Ле́ви; August 8, 1898August 5, 1973). Biography His ...
(1898–1973), Mark Aldanov, (1880s–1957),
Gaito Gazdanov Gaito Gazdanov (russian: Гайто́ (Гео́ргий) Ива́нович Газда́нов, ''Gaito'' 'Georgii'Ivanovich Gazdanov''; os, Гæздæнты Бæппийы фырт Гайто, ''Gæzdænty Bæppijy fyrt Gajto''; 5 December ...
(1903–1971) and Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977); and short-story
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
-winning writer Ivan Bunin (1870–1953), continued to write in exile. During his emigration Bunin wrote his most significant works, such as his only novel '' The Life of Arseniev'' (1927–1939) and short story cycle ''
Dark Avenues ''Dark Avenues'' (or ''Dark Alleys'', russian: Тёмные аллеи, Tyomnyie alleyi) is a collection of short stories by Nobel Prize-winning Russian author Ivan Bunin. Written in 1937–1944, mostly in Grasse, France, the first eleven stor ...
'' (1937–1944). While Bunin wrote about the pre-revolutionary Russia, life of the ''émigrés'' was described in Nabokov's '' Mary'' (1926)'' and The Gift'' (1938), Gazdanov's '' An Evening with Claire'' (1929) and '' The Specter of Alexander Wolf'' (1948) and Georgy Ivanov's novel ''Disintegration of the Atom'' (1938).


Later Soviet era

After the end of World War II Nobel Prize-winning
Boris Pasternak Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (; rus, Бори́с Леони́дович Пастерна́к, p=bɐˈrʲis lʲɪɐˈnʲidəvʲɪtɕ pəstɛrˈnak; 30 May 1960) was a Russian poet, novelist, composer and literary translator. Composed in 1917, Pa ...
(1890–1960) wrote a novel ''Doctor Zhivago'' (1945–1955). Publication of the novel in Italy caused a scandal, as the Soviet authorities forced Pasternak to renounce his 1958 Nobel Prize and denounced as an internal White emigre and a Fascist fifth columnist. Pasternak was expelled from the Writer's Union. The
Khrushchev Thaw The Khrushchev Thaw ( rus, хрущёвская о́ттепель, r=khrushchovskaya ottepel, p=xrʊˈɕːɵfskəjə ˈotʲ:ɪpʲɪlʲ or simply ''ottepel'')William Taubman, Khrushchev: The Man and His Era, London: Free Press, 2004 is the period ...
() brought some fresh wind to literature. Poetry became a mass-cultural phenomenon:
Bella Akhmadulina Izabella Akhatovna Akhmadulina ( rus, Бе́лла (Изабе́лла) Аха́товна Ахмаду́лина, tt-Cyrl, Белла Әхәт кызы Әхмәдуллина; 10 April 1937 – 29 November 2010) was a Soviet and Russian poet, ...
(1937–2010), Robert Rozhdestvensky (1932–1994), Andrei Voznesensky (1933–2010), and Yevgeny Yevtushenko (1933–2017), read their poems in stadiums and attracted huge crowds. Some writers dared to oppose Soviet ideology, like short-story writer Varlam Shalamov (1907–1982) and Nobel Prize-winning novelist
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) was a Russian novelist. One of the most famous Soviet dissidents, Solzhenitsyn was an outspoken critic of communism and helped to raise global awareness of political repr ...
(1918–2008), who wrote about life in the
gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the State Political Directorate, GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= ...
camps, or Vasily Grossman (1905–1964), with his description of World War II events countering the Soviet official historiography (his epic novel '' Life and Fate'' (1959) was not published in the Soviet Union until the
Perestroika ''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...
). Such writers, dubbed " dissidents", could not publish their major works until the 1960s. But the thaw did not last long. In the 1970s, some of the most prominent authors were not only banned from publishing but were also prosecuted for their anti-Soviet sentiments, or for
parasitism Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson ha ...
. Solzhenitsyn was expelled from the country. Others, such as Nobel Prize–winning poet
Joseph Brodsky Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky (; russian: link=no, Иосиф Александрович Бродский ; 24 May 1940 – 28 January 1996) was a Russian and American poet and essayist. Born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), USSR in 1940, ...
(1940–1996); novelists
Vasily Aksyonov Vasily Pavlovich Aksyonov ( rus, Васи́лий Па́влович Аксёнов, p=vɐˈsʲilʲɪj ˈpavləvʲɪtɕ ɐˈksʲɵnəf; August 20, 1932 – July 6, 2009) was a Soviet and Russian novelist. He became known in the West as the aut ...
(1932–2009), Eduard Limonov (1943–2020), Andrei Sinyavsky (1925–1997),
Andrei Bitov Andrei Georgiyevich Bitov (russian: Андре́й Гео́ргиевич Би́тов, 27 May 1937 – 3 December 2018) was a prominent Russian writer of Circassian ancestry. Biography Bitov was born in Leningrad. His father was an architect ...
(1937–2018), Sasha Sokolov (1943–) and
Vladimir Voinovich Vladimir Nikolayevich Voinovich (russian: Влади́мир Никола́евич Войно́вич, 26 September 1932 – 27 July 2018), was a Russian writer and former Soviet dissident, and the "first genuine comic writer" produced by the S ...
(1932–2018); and short-story writer
Sergei Dovlatov Sergei Donatovich Dovlatov (russian: link=no, Сергей Донатович Довлатов; 1941 1990) was a Soviet journalist and writer. Internationally, he is one of the most popular Russian writers of the late 20th century. Biography ...
(1941–1990), had to emigrate to the West, while Oleg Grigoriev (1943–1992) and
Venedikt Yerofeyev Venedikt Vasilyevich Yerofeyev, also Benedict Erofeev or Erofeyev (russian: Венеди́кт Васи́льевич Ерофе́ев; 24 October 1938 in Niva-3 settlement, suburb of Kandalaksha – 11 May 1990 in Moscow) was a Russian writer a ...
(1938–1990) "emigrated" to alcoholism, and Yury Dombrovsky (1909–1978) was murdered shortly after publishing his novel '' The Faculty of Useless Knowledge'' (1975). Their books were not published officially until the
perestroika ''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...
period of the 1980s, although fans continued to reprint them manually in a manner called " samizdat" (self-publishing). Image:Ivan Bunin 1933.jpg, Ivan Bunin Image:ANTolstoy.jpg, Aleksey Tolstoy Image:Mayakovsky-1910.jpg, Vladimir Mayakovsky Image:Kustodiev Zamyatin.jpg, Yevgeny Zamyatin File:Михаил-Булгаков.jpg,
Mikhail Bulgakov Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov ( rus, links=no, Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bʊlˈɡakəf; – 10 March 1940) was a Soviet writer, medical doctor, and playwright active in the fir ...
Image:Paustovsky (cropped).jpg, Konstantin Paustovsky File:Isaac_Babel.jpg, Isaac Babel Image:Vladimir Nabokov 1973.jpg, Vladimir Nabokov Image:Ilf Petrov.jpg, Ilya Ilf and Yevgeny Petrov File:Mikhail zoschenko.gif, Mikhail Zoshchenko File:Yury Olesha.jpg, Yury Olesha File:Mikhail Sholokhov 1960.jpg,
Mikhail Sholokhov Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov ( rus, Михаил Александрович Шолохов, p=ˈʂoləxəf; – 21 February 1984) was a Russian novelist and winner of the 1965 Nobel Prize in Literature. He is known for writing about life ...
Image:Varlam Shalamov-NKVD-right.jpg, Varlam Shalamov Image:Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 1974crop.jpg,
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn. (11 December 1918 – 3 August 2008) was a Russian novelist. One of the most famous Soviet dissidents, Solzhenitsyn was an outspoken critic of communism and helped to raise global awareness of political repr ...
File:Vasily_Aksyonov_1980.jpg,
Vasily Aksyonov Vasily Pavlovich Aksyonov ( rus, Васи́лий Па́влович Аксёнов, p=vɐˈsʲilʲɪj ˈpavləvʲɪtɕ ɐˈksʲɵnəf; August 20, 1932 – July 6, 2009) was a Soviet and Russian novelist. He became known in the West as the aut ...
Image:Josef Brodsky crop.jpg,
Joseph Brodsky Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky (; russian: link=no, Иосиф Александрович Бродский ; 24 May 1940 – 28 January 1996) was a Russian and American poet and essayist. Born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), USSR in 1940, ...
File:Sergey Dovlatov 4.jpg,
Sergei Dovlatov Sergei Donatovich Dovlatov (russian: link=no, Сергей Донатович Довлатов; 1941 1990) was a Soviet journalist and writer. Internationally, he is one of the most popular Russian writers of the late 20th century. Biography ...


Popular Soviet genres

Children's literature in the Soviet Union counted as a major genre because of its educational role. A large share of early-Soviet children's books were poems: Korney Chukovsky (1882–1969),
Samuil Marshak Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak (alternative spelling: Marchak) (russian: link=no, Самуил Яковлевич Маршак; 4 July 1964) was a Russian and Soviet writer of Jewish origin, translator and poet who wrote for both children and adults. ...
(1887–1964) and Agnia Barto (1906–1981) were among the most read poets. "Adult" poets, such as Mayakovsky and Sergey Mikhalkov (1913–2009), contributed to the genre as well. Some of the early Soviet children's prose consisted of loose adaptations of foreign fairy-tales unknown in contemporary Russia. Alexey N. Tolstoy (1882–1945) wrote '' Buratino'', a light-hearted and shortened adaptation of Carlo Collodi's '' Pinocchio''. Alexander Volkov (1891–1977) introduced
fantasy fiction Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
to Soviet children with his loose translation of L. Frank Baum's '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', published as ''
The Wizard of the Emerald City ''The Wizard of the Emerald City'' (russian: Волшебник Изумрудного Города) is a 1939 children's novel by Russian writer Alexander Melentyevich Volkov. The book is a re-narration of L. Frank Baum's ''The Wonderful Wizar ...
'' in 1939, and then wrote a series of five sequels, unrelated to Baum. Other notable authors include
Nikolay Nosov Nikolay Nikolayevich Nosov (russian: link=no, Николай Николаевич Носов, uk, Микола Миколайович Носов; in Kyiv – 26 July 1976 in Moscow) was a Soviet and Ukrainian children's literature writer, the ...
(1908–1976),
Lazar Lagin Lazar Iosifovich Lagin (russian: Ла́зарь Ио́сифович Лагин), real name Lazar Ginzburg (4 December 1903, Vitebsk – 4 June 1979, Moscow), was a Soviet and Russian author of children's and science fiction books. Lagin is be ...
(1903–1979),
Vitaly Bianki Vitaly Valentinovich Bianki (russian: Вита́лий Валенти́нович Биа́нки; 11 February 1894, St. Petersburg — 10 June 1959, Leningrad) was a popular Russian children’s writer and a prolific author of books on nature. E ...
(1894–1959) and
Vladimir Suteev Vladimir Grigorevich Suteev (russian: Владимир Григорьевич Сутеев) (5 July 1903 – 10 March 1993) was a Russian author, artist and animator who primarily wrote stories for children. He was among the founders of the So ...
(1903–1993). While fairy tales were relatively free from ideological oppression, the realistic children's prose of the Stalin era was highly ideological and pursued the goal to raise children as patriots and communists. A notable writer in this vein was
Arkady Gaydar Arkady Petrovich Gaidar (russian: link=no, Арка́дий Петро́вич Гайда́р, born Golikov, russian: link=no, Го́ликов; – 26 October 1941) was a Russian Soviet writer, whose stories were very popular among Soviet chil ...
(1904–1941), himself a Red Army commander (colonel) in
Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...
: his stories and plays about
Timur Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kü ...
describe a team of young pioneer volunteers who help the elderly and resist hooligans. There was a genre of hero-pioneer story that bore some similarities with Christian genre of
hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...
. In the times of Khrushchov ( First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964) and of Brezhnev (in power 1966–1982), however, the pressure lightened. Mid- and late-Soviet children's books by Eduard Uspensky, Yuri Entin, Viktor Dragunsky bear no signs of propaganda. In the 1970s many of these books, as well as stories by foreign children's writers, were adapted into animation. Soviet
Science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
, inspired by scientistic revolution, industrialisation, and the country's space pioneering, was flourishing, albeit in the limits allowed by censors. Early science fiction authors, such as
Alexander Belyaev Alexander Romanovich Belyaev (russian: Алекса́ндр Рома́нович Беля́ев, ; – 6 January 1942) was a Soviet Russian writer of science fiction. His works from the 1920s and 1930s made him a highly regarded figure in Russia ...
, Grigory Adamov,
Vladimir Obruchev Vladimir Afanasyevich Obruchev (russian: Влади́мир Афана́сьевич О́бручев; , Klepenino near Rzhev, Tver Oblast, Russian Empire – June 19, 1956, Moscow, USSR) was a Russian and Soviet geologist who specialize ...
, Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy, stuck to hard science fiction and regarded H. G. Wells and
Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the '' Voyages extra ...
as examples to follow. Two notable exceptions to this trend were early Soviet dissidents Yevgeny Zamyatin, author of dystopian novel '' We'', and
Mikhail Bulgakov Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov ( rus, links=no, Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bʊlˈɡakəf; – 10 March 1940) was a Soviet writer, medical doctor, and playwright active in the fir ...
, who used science fiction in '' Heart of a Dog'', ''
The Fatal Eggs ''The Fatal Eggs'' (russian: Роковые яйца, ) is a novella by Mikhail Bulgakov, a Soviet novelist and playwright whose most famous work is ''The Master and Margarita''. It was written in 1924 and first published in 1925. The novel beca ...
'' and '' Ivan Vasilyevich'' to satirize Communist ideology vs. what it is actual practice. Like the dissident writers of the future, Zamyatin and Bulgakov had serious problems with publishing their books due to
censorship in the Soviet Union Censorship in the Soviet Union was pervasive and strictly enforced. Censorship was performed in two main directions: *State secrets were handled by the General Directorate for the Protection of State Secrets in the Press (also known as Glavl ...
. Since the
Khrushchev thaw The Khrushchev Thaw ( rus, хрущёвская о́ттепель, r=khrushchovskaya ottepel, p=xrʊˈɕːɵfskəjə ˈotʲ:ɪpʲɪlʲ or simply ''ottepel'')William Taubman, Khrushchev: The Man and His Era, London: Free Press, 2004 is the period ...
in the 1950s, Soviet science fiction began to form its own style. Philosophy,
ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...
,
utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island soc ...
n and
dystopia A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...
n ideas became its core, and Social science fiction was the most popular subgenre. Although the view of Earth's future as that of utopian communist society was the only view that was welcome, the liberties of genre still offered a loophole for free expression. Books of brothers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, and
Kir Bulychev Kir Bulychev (russian: Кир Булычёв ''Kir Bulychyov 18 October 1934 – 5 September 2003) is a pen name of Igor Vsevolodovich Mozheiko (И́горь Все́володович Може́йко), a Soviet Russian science fiction writer, ...
, among others, are reminiscent of social problems and often include
satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming o ...
of contemporary Soviet society. Ivan Yefremov, on the contrary, arose to fame with his
utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island soc ...
n views on future as well as on
Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cu ...
in his historical novels. The Strugatskies are also credited for the Soviet's first
science fantasy Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy. In a conventional science fiction story, the world is presented as being scient ...
, the
Monday Begins on Saturday ''Monday Begins on Saturday'' (russian: Понедельник начинается в субботу) is a 1965 science fantasy novel by Soviet writers Boris and Arkady Strugatsky, with illustrations by Yevgeniy Migunov. Set in a fictional to ...
trilogy. Other notable science fiction writers included Vladimir Savchenko, Georgy Gurevich,
Alexander Kazantsev Alexander Petrovich Kazantsev (russian: Алекса́ндр Петро́вич Каза́нцев; 2 September 1906 – 13 September 2002) was a popular Soviet and Russian science fiction writer, ufologist and chess composer. Biography He was b ...
, Georgy Martynov, Yeremey Parnov.
Space opera Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, it features technological and soc ...
was less developed, since both state censors and serious writers watched it unfavorably. Nevertheless, there were moderately successful attempts to adapt space westerns to Soviet soil. The first was Alexander Kolpakov with "Griada", after came
Sergey Snegov Sergey Snegov (russian: Серге́й Алекса́ндрович Сне́гов) (20 August 1910, in Odessa – 23 February 1994), real surname Kozeryuk (russian: Козерюк), was a Soviet science fiction writer. In 1985, he was awarded the ...
with "Men Like Gods", among others. A specific branch of both science fiction and children's books appeared in mid-Soviet era: the children's science fiction. It was meant to educate children while entertaining them. The star of the genre was Bulychov, who, along with his adult books, created children's space adventure series about
Alisa Selezneva Alisa Selezneva or Seleznyova (Russian: Алиса Селезнёва) is the main character of the series of Children's literature, children's science fiction books by Russian writer Kir Bulychev. The first book with Alisa Selezneva was publishe ...
, a teenage girl from the future. Others include Nikolay Nosov with his books about dwarf Neznayka, Evgeny Veltistov, who wrote about robot boy Electronic, Vitaly Melentyev, Vladislav Krapivin, Vitaly Gubarev. Mystery was another popular genre.
Detectives A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...
by brothers Arkady and Georgy Vayner and
spy novels Spy fiction is a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device. It emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers, and the establishment of modern intelligen ...
by Yulian Semyonov were best-selling,Sofya Khagi: Boris Akunin and Retro Mode in Contemporary Russian Culture
Toronto Slavic Quarterly The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
and many of them were adapted into film or TV in the 1970s and 1980s. Village prose is a genre that conveys nostalgic descriptions of rural life.
Valentin Rasputin Valentin Grigoriyevich Rasputin (; russian: Валентин Григорьевич Распутин; 15 March 193714 March 2015) was a Russian writer. He was born and lived much of his life in the Irkutsk Oblast in Eastern Siberia. Rasputin's w ...
's 1976 novel, ''Proshchaniye s Matyoroy'' (''Farewell to Matyora'') depicted a village faced with destruction to make room for a hydroelectric plant.
Historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other t ...
in the early Soviet era included a large share of
memoirs A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...
, fictionalized or not.
Valentin Katayev Valentin Petrovich Kataev (russian: Валенти́н Петро́вич Ката́ев; also spelled Katayev or Kataiev;  – 12 April 1986) was a Russian and Soviet novelist and playwright who managed to create penetrating works discussing ...
and
Lev Kassil Lev Abramovich Kassil (russian: Лев Абрамович Кассиль; 10 July 1905 – 21 June 1970) was a Soviet and Russian writer of juvenile and young adult literature and screenwriter, depicting Soviet life, teenagers and their world, sc ...
wrote semi-autobiographic books about children's life in Tsarist Russia. Vladimir Gilyarovsky wrote ''Moscow and Muscovites'', about life in pre-revolutionary Moscow. There were also attempts to write an epic novel about the Revolution, similar to Leo Tolstoy's ''War and Peace'', based on the writers' own experience. Aleksey Tolstoy's ''
The Road to Calvary ''The Road to Calvary'' (russian: Хождение по мукам, Khozhdeniye po mukam, Walking Through Torments), also translated as ''Ordeal'', is a trilogy of novels by Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy, tracing the fate of the Russian intellige ...
'' (1920–1941) and
Mikhail Sholokhov Mikhail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov ( rus, Михаил Александрович Шолохов, p=ˈʂoləxəf; – 21 February 1984) was a Russian novelist and winner of the 1965 Nobel Prize in Literature. He is known for writing about life ...
's ''
And Quiet Flows the Don ''And Quiet Flows the Don'' (''Quiet Flows the Don'' or ''The Silent Don'', russian: Тихий Дон, literally ''The Quiet Don'') is a novel in four volumes by Russian writer Mikhail Sholokhov. The first three volumes were written from 192 ...
'' (1928–1940) depict Russia from the start of the Revolution to the end of the Civil War. ''The Road to Calvary'' demonstrates the victory of socialist ideas, while ''And Quiet Flows the Don'' gives a realist and a brutal image.
Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в;  – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...
's and
Andrei Bely Boris Nikolaevich Bugaev ( rus, Бори́с Никола́евич Буга́ев, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ bʊˈɡajɪf, a=Boris Nikolayevich Bugayev.ru.vorb.oga), better known by the pen name Andrei Bely or Biely ( rus, Андр� ...
's experimental novels '' The Life of Klim Samgin'' (1925–1936) and ''Moscow'' (1926–1931) trace the relationship of Russian ''
intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the i ...
'' with the revolutionary movement. Mikhail Bulgakov conceived to write a trilogy about the Civil War, but wrote only the first part, '' The White Guard'' (1923). The late Soviet historical fiction was dominated by World War II novels and short stories by authors such as the representatives of Lieutenant prose (such as Vasil Bykov), Vasily Grossman, Konstantin Simonov, Boris Vasilyev,
Viktor Astafyev Viktor Petrovich Astafyev also spelled Astafiev or Astaf'ev (russian: Ви́ктор Петро́вич Аста́фьев; 1 May 1924 – 29 November 2001), was a Soviet and Russian writer, playwright and screenwriter. He was recognized with th ...
, Boris Polevoy, among many others, based on the authors' own war experience. Vasily Yan and Konstantin Badygin are best known for their novels on Medieval Rus, and
Yury Tynyanov Yury Nikolaevich Tynyanov ( rus, Ю́рий Никола́евич Тыня́нов, p=ˈjʉrʲɪj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ tɨˈnʲænəf; October 18, 1894 – December 20, 1943) was a Soviet writer, literary critic, translator, scholar and scre ...
for writing on Russian Empire. Valentin Pikul wrote about many different epochs and countries in an Alexander Dumas-inspired style. In the 1970s there appeared a relatively independent Village Prose, whose most prominent representatives were
Viktor Astafyev Viktor Petrovich Astafyev also spelled Astafiev or Astaf'ev (russian: Ви́ктор Петро́вич Аста́фьев; 1 May 1924 – 29 November 2001), was a Soviet and Russian writer, playwright and screenwriter. He was recognized with th ...
and
Valentin Rasputin Valentin Grigoriyevich Rasputin (; russian: Валентин Григорьевич Распутин; 15 March 193714 March 2015) was a Russian writer. He was born and lived much of his life in the Irkutsk Oblast in Eastern Siberia. Rasputin's w ...
. Any sort of fiction that dealt with the occult, either horror, adult-oriented fantasy or magic realism, was unwelcome in Soviet Russia. Until the 1980s very few books in these genres were written, and even fewer were published, although earlier books, such as by Gogol, were not banned. Of the rare exceptions, Bulgakov in ''
Master and Margarita ''The Master and Margarita'' (russian: Мастер и Маргарита) is a novel by Soviet writer Mikhail Bulgakov, written in the Soviet Union between 1928 and 1940 during Stalin's regime. A censored version, with several chapters cut by ...
'' (not published in author's lifetime) and Strugatskies in ''
Monday Begins on Saturday ''Monday Begins on Saturday'' (russian: Понедельник начинается в субботу) is a 1965 science fantasy novel by Soviet writers Boris and Arkady Strugatsky, with illustrations by Yevgeniy Migunov. Set in a fictional to ...
'' introduced magic and mystical creatures into contemporary Soviet reality to satirize it. Another exception was early Soviet writer
Alexander Grin Aleksandr Stepanovich Grinevsky (better known by his pen name, Aleksandr Green / Grin (spelling varies in non-Russian literature), rus, Александр Грин, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɡrʲin, a=Ru-Aleksandr Grin.ogg, 23 August 1880 – 8 July 1932 ...
, who wrote romantic tales, both realistic and fantastic. File:Mikhail Prishvin 1900.png, Mikhail Prishvin Image:Chukovsky by Repin.jpg, Korney Chukovsky File:Александр Грин.jpg,
Alexander Grin Aleksandr Stepanovich Grinevsky (better known by his pen name, Aleksandr Green / Grin (spelling varies in non-Russian literature), rus, Александр Грин, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɡrʲin, a=Ru-Aleksandr Grin.ogg, 23 August 1880 – 8 July 1932 ...
Image:Alexander Belayev.jpg,
Alexander Belayev Alexander Romanovich Belyaev (russian: Алекса́ндр Рома́нович Беля́ев, ; – 6 January 1942) was a Soviet Russian writer of science fiction. His works from the 1920s and 1930s made him a highly regarded figure in Russi ...
File:N Ostrovskiy.jpg,
Nikolai Ostrovsky Nikolai Alexeevich Ostrovsky (russian: Никола́й Алексе́евич Остро́вский; uk, Мико́ла Олексі́йович Остро́вський; 29 September 1904 – 22 December 1936) was a Soviet socialist realist w ...
Image:Olga Bergholz.jpg,
Olga Bergholz Olga Fyodorovna Bergholz ( rus, Ольга Фёдоровна Берггольц, p=ˈolʲɡə ˈfʲɵdərəvnə bʲɪrˈɡolʲts, a=Ol'ga Fyodorovna Byerghol'cz.ru.vorb.oga; – November 13, 1975) was a Soviet and Russian poet, writer, playwrig ...
Image:Михалков Сергей Владимирович.jpg, Sergey Mikhalkov File:Valentin Kataev.jpg,
Valentin Kataev Valentin Petrovich Kataev (russian: Валенти́н Петро́вич Ката́ев; also spelled Katayev or Kataiev;  – 12 April 1986) was a Russian and Soviet novelist and playwright who managed to create penetrating works discussing ...
File:Иван Ефремов 1925 cropped.jpg, Ivan Yefremov File:Fotothek df roe-neg 0006329 003 Mitglied.jpg, Alexander Fadeyev File:Константин Михайлович Симонов.jpg, Konstantin Simonov File:Boris Strugatsky Seminar 20060109 02.jpg,
Boris Strugatsky The brothers Arkady Natanovich Strugatsky (russian: Аркадий Натанович Стругацкий; 28 August 1925 – 12 October 1991) and Boris Natanovich Strugatsky ( ru , Борис Натанович Стругацкий; 14 A ...


Post-Soviet era

The end of the 20th century proved a difficult period for Russian literature, with relatively few distinct voices. Although the censorship was lifted and writers could now freely express their thoughts, the political and economic chaos of the 1990s affected the book market and literature heavily. The book printing industry descended into crisis, the number of printed book copies dropped several times in comparison to Soviet era, and it took about a decade to revive. Among the most discussed authors of this period were Victor Pelevin, who gained popularity with first short stories and then novels, novelist and playwright
Vladimir Sorokin Vladimir Georgiyevich Sorokin (russian: link=no, Влади́мир Гео́ргиевич Соро́кин; born 7 August 1955) is a contemporary postmodern Russian writer and dramatist. He has been described as one of the most popular writers ...
, and the poet
Dmitry Prigov Dmitri Aleksandrovich Prigov (russian: Дми́трий Алекса́ндрович При́гов, 5 November 1940 in Moscow – 16 July 2007 in MoscowTatyana Tolstaya or Lyudmila Petrushevskaya, and novelists Lyudmila Ulitskaya or
Dina Rubina Dina Ilyinichna Rubina (russian: Дина Ильи́нична Ру́бина; he, דינה רובינה, born 19 September 1953 in Tashkent) is a Russian-Israeli prose writer. She is one of the most prominent Russian-language Israeli writers. B ...
have come into prominence. Short stories of
Sergei Dovlatov Sergei Donatovich Dovlatov (russian: link=no, Сергей Донатович Довлатов; 1941 1990) was a Soviet journalist and writer. Internationally, he is one of the most popular Russian writers of the late 20th century. Biography ...
who emigrated to the USA in 1979 and died in 1990 became very popular in Russia posthumously. The tradition of the classic Russian novel continues with such authors as Mikhail Shishkin and
Vasily Aksyonov Vasily Pavlovich Aksyonov ( rus, Васи́лий Па́влович Аксёнов, p=vɐˈsʲilʲɪj ˈpavləvʲɪtɕ ɐˈksʲɵnəf; August 20, 1932 – July 6, 2009) was a Soviet and Russian novelist. He became known in the West as the aut ...
. Detective stories and thrillers have proven a very successful genre of new Russian literature: in the 1990s serial detective novels by Alexandra Marinina, Polina Dashkova and
Darya Dontsova Agrippina Arkadyevna Dontsova (russian: Агриппи́на Арка́дьевна Донцо́ва (Васи́льева), link=no; born 7 June 1952 in Moscow), primarily known as Darya Dontsova (russian: link=no, Дарья Донцова) (bef ...
were published in millions of copies. In the next decade
Boris Akunin Boris Akunin (russian: Борис Акунин) is the pen name of Grigori Chkhartishvili (russian: Григорий Шалвович Чхартишвили, Grigory Shalvovich Chkhartishvili; ka, გრიგორი ჩხარტიშვ ...
who wrote more sophisticated popular fiction, e.g. a series of novels about the 19th century sleuth
Erast Fandorin Erast Petrovich Fandorin (russian: Эраст Петрович Фандорин) is a fictional 19th-century Russian detective and the hero of a series of Russian historical detective novels by Boris Akunin. The first Fandorin novel (''The Winte ...
, was eagerly read across the country. Science fiction was always well selling, albeit second to
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
, that was relatively new to Russian readers. These genres boomed in the late 1990s, with authors like
Sergey Lukyanenko Sergei Vasilyevich Lukyanenko (russian: Серге́й Васи́льевич Лукья́ненко, ; born 11 April 1968) is a Russian science fiction and fantasy author, writing in Russian. His works often feature intense action-packed plots, ...
,
Nick Perumov Nick Perumov (russian: link=no, Ник Перумов) is the pen name of Nikolay Daniilovich Perumov (russian: link=no, Николай Даниилович Перумов; born 21 November 1963), a Russian fantasy and science fiction writer. Bi ...
, Maria Semenova, Vera Kamsha, Alexey Pekhov, Anton Vilgotsky and Vadim Panov. A good share of modern Russian science fiction and fantasy is written in
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
, especially in
Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.
, home to H. L. Oldie, Alexander Zorich, Yuri Nikitin and
Andrey Valentinov Andriy Valentynov / Andrey Valentinov (Ukrainian: Андрій Валентинов, Russian: Андрей Валентинов; born March 18, 1958) is the pen name of a Ukrainian Russian-speaking science/fantasy fiction writer Andriy Valentynovy ...
. Many others hail from
Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...
, including
Marina and Sergey Dyachenko Spouses Maryna Yuryivna Dyachenko (born 23 January 1968) and Serhiy Serhiyovych Dyachenko (14 April 1945 – 5 May 2022) (Marina Yuryevna Dyachenko (Shirshova) and Sergey Sergeyevich Dyachenko) (rus. Марина и Сергей Дяченко, ...
and
Vladimir Arenev Volodymyr Arenev (, russian: italic=yes, Владимир Аренев) is a pen name of Ukrainians, Ukrainian science fiction, fantasy award-winning writer, journalist and screenwriter Volodymyr Puziy. Writes in Russian language, Russian and Ukrai ...
. Significant contribution to Russian horror literature has been done by Ukrainians Andrey Dashkov and
Alexander Vargo Alexander Vargo (Russian: Александр Варго) is an official pseudonym used by group of Russian horror writers whose books are published by Eksmo Eksmo (russian: Эксмо) is one of the largest publishing houses in Russia. Eksmo and ...
. Russian poetry of that period produced a number of avant-garde greats. The members of the Lianosovo group of poets, notably Genrikh Sapgir, Igor Kholin and Vsevolod Nekrasov, who previously chose to refrain from publication in Soviet periodicals, became very influential, especially in Moscow, and the same goes for another masterful experimental poet, Gennady Aigi. Also popular were poets following some other poetic trends, e.g. Vladimir Aristov and Ivan Zhdanov from ''Poetry Club'' and Konstantin Kedrov and Elena Katsuba from ''DOOS'', who all used complex metaphors which they called meta-metaphors. In St. Petersburg, members of ''New Leningrad Poetry School'' that included not only the famous
Joseph Brodsky Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky (; russian: link=no, Иосиф Александрович Бродский ; 24 May 1940 – 28 January 1996) was a Russian and American poet and essayist. Born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), USSR in 1940, ...
but also Victor Krivulin, Sergey Stratanovsky and Elena Shvarts, were prominent first in the Soviet-times underground – and later in mainstream poetry. Some other poets, e.g. Sergey Gandlevsky and
Dmitry Vodennikov Dmitry Vodennikov (russian: Дми́трий Бори́сович Воде́нников) (born 22 December 1968) is a Russian poet and essayist. In 2002, he was named as one of the ten best living Russian poets in a poll of 110 leading Russian ...
, gained popularity by writing in a retro style, which reflected the sliding of newly written Russian poetry into being consciously imitative of the patterns and forms developed as early as in the 19th century.


21st century

In the 21st century, a new generation of Russian authors appeared differing greatly from the postmodernist Russian prose of the late 20th century, which lead critics to speak about “new realism”. Having grown up after the fall of the Soviet Union, the "new realists" write about every day life, but without using the mystical and surrealist elements of their predecessors. The "new realists" are writers who assume there is a place for preaching in journalism, social and political writing and the media, but that “direct action” is the responsibility of civil society. Leading "new realists" include Ilja Stogoff, Zakhar Prilepin, Alexander Karasyov,
Arkady Babchenko Arkady Arkadyevich Babchenko (russian: Аркадий Аркадьевич Бабченко; born 18 March 1977) is a Russian print and television journalist. From 1995, Babchenko served in the communication corps in the North Caucasus while par ...
, Vladimir Lorchenkov and Alexander Snegiryov.


External influences


British romantic poetry

Scottish
poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...
Robert Burns became a ‘people's poet’ in Russia. In
Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...
times the Russian
aristocracy Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word' ...
were so out of touch with the peasantry that Burns, translated into Russian, became a symbol for the ordinary Russian people. A new translation of Burns, begun in 1924 by
Samuil Marshak Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak (alternative spelling: Marchak) (russian: link=no, Самуил Яковлевич Маршак; 4 July 1964) was a Russian and Soviet writer of Jewish origin, translator and poet who wrote for both children and adults. ...
, proved enormously popular selling over 600,000 copies.
Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...
was a major influence on almost all Russian poets of the Golden Era, including Pushkin, Vyazemsky, Zhukovsky, Batyushkov, Baratynsky, Delvig and, especially, Lermontov.


French literature

Writers such as
Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
and Honoré de Balzac were widely influential. Also,
Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the '' Voyages extra ...
inspired several generations of Russian science fiction writers.


Abroad

Russian literature is not only written by Russians. In the Soviet times such popular writers as
Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
ian
Vasil Bykaŭ Vasil Uladzimiravič Bykaŭ (often spelled Vasil Bykov, be, Васі́ль Уладзі́міравіч Бы́каў, russian: Василь Влади́мирович Быков) (19 June 1924 – 22 June 2003) was a prolific Soviet and Belarus ...
,
Kyrgyz Kyrgyz, Kirghiz or Kyrgyzstani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Kyrgyzstan *Kyrgyz people *Kyrgyz national games *Kyrgyz language *Kyrgyz culture *Kyrgyz cuisine *Yenisei Kirghiz *The Fuyü Gïrgïs language in Northeastern China ...
Chinghiz Aitmatov and Abkhaz
Fazil Iskander Fazil Abdulovich Iskander (russian: Фази́ль Абду́лович Исканде́р; ab, Фазиль Абдул-иԥа Искандер; 6 March 1929 – 31 July 2016) was a Soviet and Russian"There's no doubt I'm a Russian writer who pr ...
wrote some of their books in Russian. Some renowned contemporary authors writing in Russian have been born and live in Ukraine ( Andrey Kurkov, H. L. Oldie,
Maryna and Serhiy Dyachenko Spouses Maryna Yuryivna Dyachenko (born 23 January 1968) and Serhiy Serhiyovych Dyachenko (14 April 1945 – 5 May 2022) (Marina Yuryevna Dyachenko (Shirshova) and Sergey Sergeyevich Dyachenko) (rus. Марина и Сергей Дяченко, ...
) or
Baltic States The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone ...
(Garros and Evdokimov,
Max Frei Max Frei (russian: Макс Фрай) is the pen name of Svetlana Yuryevna Martynchik (russian: Светла́на Ю́рьевна Марты́нчик; uk, Світлана Юріївна Мартинчик) (born 1965 in Odesa, Ukrainian SSR, ...
). Most Ukrainian fantasy and science fiction authors write in Russian, which gives them access to a much broader audience, and usually publish their books via Russian publishers such as
Eksmo Eksmo (russian: Эксмо) is one of the largest publishing houses in Russia. Eksmo and AST (which it later acquired in 2012) together publish approximately 30% of all Russian books. Established in 1991 as a small book-selling company, Eksmo gr ...
, Azbuka and AST. A number of prominent Russian authors such as novelists Mikhail Shishkin, Rubén Gallego,
Julia Kissina Julia Kissina (born 1966 in Kyiv), is a German and Russian artist and writer. Biography Julia Kissina was born in 1966 in Kyiv, Ukraine, to a Jewish family, and studied dramatic writing at the Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography in Moscow, ...
, Svetlana Martynchik and
Dina Rubina Dina Ilyinichna Rubina (russian: Дина Ильи́нична Ру́бина; he, דינה רובינה, born 19 September 1953 in Tashkent) is a Russian-Israeli prose writer. She is one of the most prominent Russian-language Israeli writers. B ...
, poets Alexei Tsvetkov and Bakhyt Kenjeev, though born in USSR, live and work in West Europe,
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...
or
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
.


Themes in Russian books

Suffering, often as a means of redemption, is a recurrent theme in Russian literature. Fyodor Dostoyevsky in particular is noted for exploring suffering in works such as ''
Notes from Underground ''Notes from Underground'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform Russian: ; also translated as ''Notes from the Underground'' or ''Letters from the Underworld'') is a novella by Fyodor Dostoevsky, first published in the journal ''Epoch'' in 1864. ...
'' and '' Crime and Punishment''. Christianity and Christian symbolism are also important themes, notably in the works of Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy and Chekhov. In the 20th century, suffering as a mechanism of evil was explored by authors such as Solzhenitsyn in ''
The Gulag Archipelago ''The Gulag Archipelago: An Experiment in Literary Investigation'' (russian: Архипелаг ГУЛАГ, ''Arkhipelag GULAG'') is a three-volume non-fiction text written between 1958 and 1968 by Russian writer and Soviet dissident Aleksandr So ...
''. A leading Russian literary critic of the 20th century Viktor Shklovsky, in his book, ''Zoo, or Letters Not About Love'', wrote, "Russian literature has a bad tradition. Russian literature is devoted to the description of unsuccessful love affairs."


Russian Nobel laureates in Literature


See also


References


Bibliography

* Brunson, M. (2016).
Russian Realisms: Literature and Painting, 1840–1890
' (NIU Series in Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies). DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press. * Grigoryan, B. (2018).
Noble Subjects: The Russian Novel and the Gentry, 1762–1861
' (NIU Series in Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies). DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press. * Terras, Victor (1985). ''Handbook of Russian Literature''. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press *


External links


Encyclopedia of Soviet Writers
*
Maxim Moshkov's E-library of Russian literature
(in Russian)
Contemporary Russian Poets Database
(in English)
Contemporary Russian Poets in English translation




* ttp://www.professorandy.com/RussianLiterature.shtml Information and Critique on Russian Literature
History of Russian literature
Brief summary

by the Slavic Reference Service
Search Russian Books
(in Russian)

* ttp://refleksiya-absurda.ru/ Russian literary magazine "Reflection of the Absurd"
Публичная электронная библиотека Е.Пескина
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Russian Literature